The invention relates to closure panels used to close an opening defined in the rear portion of a vehicle body, as is often found in minivans, sport utility vehicles, and hatchbacks.
Minivans, sport utility vehicles, hatchbacks, and other similar vehicles typically feature a rearward opening defined in the rear portion of the vehicle""s body. The prior art generally teaches the use of one or more movable xe2x80x9cclosure panelsxe2x80x9d with which to close such openings while otherwise permitting access through the opening to an interior space defined within the vehicle body, such as the interior of the vehicle or a cargo space situated in the rear of the vehicle.
When a single closure panel is used, the single closure panel is typically pivotally mounted to the vehicle body at the panel""s upper edge, such that the panel is pivoted upwards to reveal the rear body opening. Such single closure panels are often called xe2x80x9cliftgate assembliesxe2x80x9d, and are often used in conjunction with a continuous weatherstrip secured around the periphery of the rear body opening to thereby obtain a superior weatherseal when the liftgate assembly is in its xe2x80x9cclosedxe2x80x9d position. Because the entire liftgate assembly is pivoted upward as a single unit to reveal the rear body opening, such liftgate assemblies advantageously provide maximum access to the rear body opening while further featuring a relatively low xe2x80x9cliftoverxe2x80x9d height, thereby facilitating the ingress and egress, for example, of large or heavy items into the vehicle through the rear body opening. However, such known liftgate assemblies generally require a substantial clearance behind and, perhaps, above the rear of the vehicle in order to be fully deployed to the xe2x80x9copenxe2x80x9d position, thereby possibly limiting the circumstances under which such maximum access to the rear body opening may be obtained. Moreover, such known liftgate assemblies tend to have greater weight, making such assemblies more difficult to open and, hence, of reduced convenience to a person seeking to gain either quick or a relatively more limited degree of access to the rear body opening.
Such known liftgate assemblies usually include a window positioned in the upper portion of the closure panel to improve driver visibility. Typically, the lowermost edge of the window is generally aligned with the vehicle""s xe2x80x9cbeltlinexe2x80x9d, as defined by the lowermost edges of the windows on either side of the vehicle proximate to the liftgate assembly. The alignment of the liftgate assembly""s window with the vehicle beltline is generally considered to provide an aesthetically desirable visual continuation of the beltline across the rear of the vehicle.
The window of such known liftgate assemblies is either fixed or is pivotally mounted at its upper edge to the upper portion of the liftgate assembly. Such a pivotally mounted window, also known in the art as a xe2x80x9cflipglassxe2x80x9d or a xe2x80x9cliftglassxe2x80x9d, advantageously provides the liftgate assembly with a relatively quick but relatively more limited access to the rear body opening. It will be appreciated, however, that the access provided by the liftglass is characterized by an increased xe2x80x9cliftoverxe2x80x9d height, relative to the lower periphery of the rear body opening, due to the alignment of the lowermost edge of the liftglass with the vehicle beltline.
The prior art alternatively teaches use of plural closure panels. For example, the combination of either a lower, downwardly pivoting, full-width closure panel (often called a xe2x80x9ctailgate assemblyxe2x80x9d) or a pair of lower, laterally pivoting half-width closure panels (often called xe2x80x9cDutch doorsxe2x80x9d), and a relatively smaller, upwardly pivoting, full-width closure panel that, in its most simple configuration, is a liftglass. Because each of the plural closure panels is substantially smaller than the single closure panel of an analogous liftgate assembly, each closure panel is likely to be lighter, and less clearance is likely to be required in order to fully deploy a given panel to its open position. However, the lower edge of the liftglass in these oppositely pivoting multiple-panel embodiments nonetheless remains generally aligned with the vehicle beltline for aesthetic reasons, again providing a relatively increased liftover height when the liftglass alone is pivoted upwards to permit access to the rear body opening.
The so-called xe2x80x9cliftover heightxe2x80x9d of known liftgate assemblies is higher than the height of a wheeled shopping cart commonly used to transport groceries and other items from a retail establishment to a parked sport utility vehicle or minivan. This typically is due to the vehicle body designer""s objective to maintain general alignment of the lowermost margin of the liftgate window with the vehicle beltline. Such alignment is perceived by vehicle purchasers to have aesthetic advantages. Because of the greater xe2x80x9cliftover heightxe2x80x9d, loading of the cargo area of the vehicle from a shopping cart is unduly burdensome.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a liftglass assembly, and a method of making such a liftglass assembly, for closing a rear body opening of a motor vehicle, wherein the liftglass assembly includes a lowermost edge that extends below a vehicle xe2x80x9cbeltlinexe2x80x9d as defined by a side feature of the vehicle, and wherein the liftglass assembly includes a raised feature that is offset from the lowermost edge and, preferably, substantially aligned with the vehicle beltline to thereby aesthetically substantially continue the vehicle beltline across the rear of the vehicle.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a liftglass assembly, and a method of making such a liftglass assembly, for a motor vehicle whose body is painted with a selected body color, wherein the liftglass includes a raised surface having a color that is coordinated with the selected body color.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a liftglass assembly, and a method of making such a liftglass assembly, for a motor vehicle whose body includes a selected surface finish, wherein the liftglass includes a raised surface having a surface finish that is substantially the same as the selected surface finish.
Another object of the invention is to provide a liftgate assembly for closing a rear body opening of a motor vehicle, wherein the liftgate assembly features a liftglass that provides access into an adjacent interior space of the vehicle characterized by a liftover height that is less than that of known liftgate/liftglass assemblies.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a liftgate assembly for closing a rear body opening of a motor vehicle that features a liftglass whose lowermost edge extends below the vehicle beltline as defined by a side body feature, but which nominally preserves the desirable aesthetic feature of substantially continuing the vehicle beltline across the rear of the vehicle.
Under the invention, a liftglass assembly is provided for closing an opening defined in a body of a motor vehicle, wherein the vehicle includes features defining a vehicle beltline that intersects the opening. The liftglass assembly includes a glass panel adapted to be pivotally mounted on the liftgate assembly such that the glass panel is movable between a closed position overlying the opening and an open position allowing access to the opening. The liftglass assembly further includes an appliquxc3xa9 permanently secured to a lower portion of the glass panel, the appliquxc3xa9 defining at least a portion of a surface feature that substantially traverses the lower portion of the glass panel in substantial alignment with the vehicle beltline when the glass panel is in the closed position. In a preferred embodiment, wherein the glass panel includes a lowermost edge when in the closed position, the surface feature is a surface contour discontinuity or xe2x80x9cstepxe2x80x9d that is defined, in part, by an edge of the appliquxc3xa9 that is vertically offset from the glass panel""s lowermost edge.
In accordance with one feature of the invention, the lower margin of the liftgate glass is located at a predetermined height from a road surface. That predetermined height is approximately equal to or lower than the height of a shopping cart of the kind commonly used at retail establishments, which typically is about 43 inches. This feature makes it much less burdensome to load groceries and other cargo from a shopping cart into the cargo area of the vehicle. The lower edge of the liftgate assembly rear body opening, notwithstanding the increased size of the liftgate glass opening, is effective to keep bottles, cans and other items from rolling out onto a parking lot during the process of loading and unloading the vehicle cargo area. Further, the lower portion of the liftgate assembly below the lower margin of the liftgate glass readily permits packaging the vehicle license plate.
By way of example only, in the preferred embodiment, the appliquxc3xa9 is formed of a TPO material whose exterior surface is provided with a xe2x80x9cClass 1xe2x80x9d finish to generally match that of the vehicle""s painted body and, most preferably, has a color that is coordinated with a selected body color of the vehicle. In the preferred embodiment, the appliquxc3xa9 is permanently secured, for example, by a suitable urethane adhesive to an intermediate substrate material that is itself permanently secured to the lowermost portion of the glass panel. The use of the intermediate substrate material and, particularly, the forming of such an intermediate substrate material about or against the lowermost portion of the glass panel, for example, as by injection molding, advantageously provide a substrate surface for supporting the appliquxc3xa9 that is characterized by a desired contour, notwithstanding the presence of any xe2x80x9coff-formxe2x80x9d tolerance waves in the surface contour of the lower portion of the glass panel.
In accordance with the invention, a method for making a liftglass assembly for a motor vehicle includes defining a surface feature on a lower portion of a glass panel, for example, by inserting at least the lower portion of the glass panel into a mold and over-molding a suitable substrate material about the lower portion of the glass panel to obtain a raised substrate surface; and permanently securing an appliquxc3xa9 to the raised substrate surface. In a preferred method of practicing the invention, in which the raised substrate surface is formed of an injection-molded urethane and the appliquxc3xa9 is formed of a TPO material, the step of permanently securing the appliquxc3xa9 to the raised substrate surface includes surface treating the raised substrate surface and, if necessary, an inner face of the appliquxc3xa9 to facilitate adhesion; and permanently bonding the inner face of the appliquxc3xa9 to the raised substrate surface with a first adhesive.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, in a preferred method, the step of permanently securing the appliquxc3xa9 to the raised substrate surface includes bonding a relatively small portion the inner face of the appliquxc3xa9 to the raised substrate surface with a second adhesive, the second adhesive being characterized by a substantially reduced set or cure time relative to the first adhesive. By way of example only, in the preferred method, the first adhesive is a urethane adhesive that is applied to a first portion of the raised substrate surface appliquxc3xa9 that includes its entire periphery, and the second adhesive is a hot melt adhesive that is applied to several small, spaced portions of the raised substrate surface. The hot melt adhesive advantageously serves to xe2x80x9cfixturexe2x80x9d the appliquxc3xa9 to the raised substrate surface during the period in which the first adhesive cures.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, a liftgate assembly is also provided for closing a rear body opening of a motor vehicle that has a vehicle beltline defined by one or more side body features, such as the lowermost portions of one or more side windows. The liftgate assembly includes a closure panel that is pivotally mounted on the vehicle body so as to move between a closed position, in which the closure panel entirely overlies the rear body opening, and an open position permitting access to the rear body opening. A secondary opening defined in the closure panel includes a lowermost portion that extends to a height on the vehicle below the vehicle beltline when the closure panel is in the closed position.
The liftgate assembly further includes a liftglass assembly whose upper portion is pivotally mounted on the closure panel proximate to an upper edge of the liftglass assembly, and whose lower portion includes a raised surface feature, which defines a visual element of the liftglass assembly that is vertically offset from the lowermost edge of the liftglass assembly and, most preferably, is substantially aligned with the vehicle beltline when the liftglass assembly closes the secondary opening to thereby aesthetically substantially continue the vehicle beltline across the rear of the vehicle. In a preferred embodiment, the raised surface feature of the liftglass assembly is defined, at least in part, by an appliquxc3xa9 that is permanently secured to the lower portion of the glass panel and, most preferably, that has a color and surface finish that is coordinated with a selected painted body surface of the vehicle.
The above object and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.